Mesaba Airlines: 2 Month Upgrade
 

Well, it's right there in the latest vacancy award. The Junior Detroit Saab Captain was hired in August 2007.

It's such an extreme change from what pilots at Mesaba are used to, I don't think anyone quite knows what to think about it!

Reminder to self.... No family on Mesaba.

How long to hold MSP Captain?

hahaha I was thinking the same thing:D

Even though you have no clue what this person's experience level is?

You're a smart one.

God why does everybody take everything so serious:p It was a joke...............................:rolleyes:

That Sounds Good To Me

theres gotta be some mitigating circumstances for that to happen

Who's the idiot. The person staying off the plane of a two month upgraded captain while not knowing his experience level or the person who gets on the plane of a two month upgraded captain and doesn't know his experience level?

For all you guys know he could be a 10,000hr CA that was so ticked with flying night freight (or something like that) and decided to go back to DTW and be a CA and be with his family instead of commuting somewhere! If you haven't figured out that the long upgrade is a thing of the past you should figure it out now! There are many regionals where you can hold CA quick but your QOL is crap, so people wait.

Mesaba needs Saab CAs right now. If you meet the CA min time, you should get the upgrade unless you opt out for CRJ for a later time.

hmmmmmmmmm, I have 2600 total time, over 1,000hrs 121 Turbine time and 600hr or so in a SAAB:cool: If things turn south here in the next month or so......... Mesaba here I come

For all I know he isn't and just waiting for some company with staffing issues to make him the next statistic. Knowing what we currently know, which isn't much except that he's a 2 month upgrade, and you had the choice to put him on that aircraft or another with hire mins and upgrade times which one would you put your 6month baby girl and wife on?

You've got the time to upgrade right now to SF3 especially if you have the SF3 time already. If you wait a few more months, you should be able to upgrade to CRJ200.

Type on an SF3 with 3500 on it. Whats CA pay?

God, thats nuts, scary too.

I have to dig it out of the contract but if you want fast answers, go to airlinepilotcentral.com and click Mesaba for the pay rate. Rate posted there is I believe accurate. Hourly rate does not tell the whole story though. You can average more than 92 credit hours for flying about 75 or less, plus per diem which comes to about between $ 389 to $450/month.
I think the SF3 hourly rate is $43/hr.

Why? In the 1960s United hired pilots with 200 hours (male and female) total in a single engine airplane to fly Boeing jets. Today, British Airways, Lufthansa hires people off the street with 0 hours and after training puts them on the right seat of all their jets including B 747s.

Hey, Saabaroowski, because of your Avatar, you remind me of the Donkey in Shrek. I mean it in a good way. Seriously though, Mesaba has a very good and thorough training department, and by the time you are finished going through what they put you through, you will be totally confident.

FWIW, I guarantee you the training that BA and Lufthansa and the other airlines that do that ain't nothin' like the training you get at your local FBO. It is extremely selective to get into those programs and extremely demanding once in.

I know, there's no substitute for experience but those 300 hour pilots are far more highly trained than the brand new shiny CFI who is applying to Colgan or Piedmont or PSA or wherever.

BTW, the 2-month upgrade is intriguing....... :D

why not come back to colgan??

hey man go for it...believe me Mesaba is a great place!

I would say those Euro abinto programs are more like military training programs than like your local FBO. Its all about training and confidence.... When I was in the AF our typical upgrade to the left seat was at 2 years and 700-800 hours in the right seat. That was on the C-130, but when done with upgrade you are fully qualified for Tactical Airland and Airdrop, etc.... hell my first "A" code trip was from Pope AFB to Goose Bay, Canada on to Frankfurt, Germany then Sigonella, Italy finally on to Azraq, Jordan. 6 weeks deployed then back to the states.....

Experience, training and individual ability should all be a factor in upgrade.

I don't know a thing about military training, but you are right about the Euro Ab Initio training. It is highly selective and highly structured. Those 200-300 hour pilots on Airbuses and Boeings are perfectly qualified to be sitting there.

I am sure the military training is selective and tough as well, which is why those guys don't usually have trouble with airline training AFAIK.

Ironically, two of the worst pilots I have flown with have been ex-military. But so has one of the best. Former B-52 commander. Gets it in every respect.

I've said it before and I'll say it again...I get so sick of seeing this comment on this board. TD, would you REALLY follow through on this? Whenever you get on an airplane, or put your family on an airplane, do you do an extensive check on the pilots? I'm sure if you had the opportunity to upgrade in two months, you would be grateful for it...but suddenly, when someone else has that chance, they are automatically not worthy of their position as captain. Come on...if you have the luck, seniority, and the skills to pass the training, what is the problem?

I even laughed at that one!!!:D

A few of these guys came from other slow moving regionals. So you're right higney85..

Mesaba has been attracting qualified pilots from other regionals. I wouldn't worry about it.

Yup. I look at who flies what. If I see a list of regionals going home I stick with the ones I feel are better. I never get on a Freedom, Mesa, or GoJet. I've never been in a position where I was stuck with only them. I'm sure everyone is qualified as they must meet FAA standards. Doesn't mean I can't have a small fear of flying with some. Anyway it was just a comment to be kinda funny. Like I said I know anyone there has met FAA standards. But yes I still worry.

Whatever!!

i have nothing to add except i love this thread!

So is the training department at Mesaba. Don't underestimate them just because they are a regional airline. Mesaba airline has been training pilots to be airline pilots since 1944 and they are at the top when I compare them to others.

Toilet if you wouldn't let your family fly with them you need to go to the FAA and report this as a safety issue. Your family is no more special than the general public. To make a claim like you are doing is bogus. It's a dis-service to the Captain taking on this responsibility, the ground school instructors, the sim instructors, the Line check airman the training department as a whole are preparing these street captains to be safe. If you feel all these people won't do a good enough job, YOU need to go to the FAA and report it, until you do you are a hypocrite, PERIOD.
There is no grey line it's black and white, go to the FAA, suggest how to make this safer. (example the UNION is preparing a mentor program for all new hires [don't rip on this one to, it's not a union lovefest, it's about fostering safety] Be part of the solution if you don't like what's going on.

Call me crazy, but it seemed as if you were quite serious, and you made more than one post on the matter. Back pedal much?

I hear ya, can't say I totally disagree with you. BUT, before you go sticking Mesaba in the ranks of who you just mentioned, I would remind you to look at our training and safety record... among the best. Mesaba is part of the red tail family (and therefore leaves a lot to be desired) but we are not, a scab airline.

ooooooo ouch I was waiting for someone to use that. Let's come up with another term. How about fireball upgraders... In the Air force we used to call guys/girls "fireball 9's" when they scored high on their APR reports. I don't know. Nothing wrong with street captains everyone who was eligible to upgrade were given the chance.

I like to call us "a Legacy Regional".:D

Yup, it's true:

Street Captain's are being advertised for on www.mesaba.com.

It's also true that Mesaba has an exceptionally good training department and an impeccable safety record.

We also have a very active and focused union and a good overall employee group who want to help keep Mesaba a respectable airline. We will all have to keep on our toes in the coming months, from the most senior captain down to the freshest new hire.

Yes, but he is staying on the crj900 as an FO, getting paid 43/hr. Mesaba needs him there

Actually, the most junior upgrade is a Saab FO, and will go to training as scheduled. There are some jet FO's who will be bypassed until Feb. They'll start getting Saab CA pay in Dec-Jan (8 weeks from class start). Lucky for them, they'll be the only jet FO's getting paid what they should all be paid!